New Balance Shoes Statistics

Posted on 14 September, 2023 by Jens Jakob Andersen

New Balance was founded in 1906 but it wasn’t until 1938 that it joined the running shoe manufacturing industry. This report uses qualitative data to detail the centennial Boston-based shoe company’s ups, downs, and continuing journey to the future.

Top New Balance shoe statistics

  • About 80% or about $4.24 billion of the total revenue of New Balance in 2022 is from its footwear section. 
  • From a $1.35 billion figure in 2008, the shoe brand has soared by 214.1% in 14 years. 
  • New Balance held 4% of the global shoe industry. In the US, they occupy a 10% market share.  
  • The company reports an equal 50% to 50% share between its men and women user-end segments in 2022. The proportion was 57% to 43% back in 2017.
  • The 2022-23 season of NBA was the strongest showing of New Balance in the last six years. It poised a 2.3% share, making it the 6th most popular brand in the league during that year. 
  • New Balance produces an average of 16 million pairs of shoes annually in 2021. 
  • A New Balance shoe weighs 10.5 oz (297g) on average for men and 8.5 oz (240.5g) for women. 
  • The average price of all New Balance shoes as of 2023 is $108. 
  • In 2019, the average resale price of a New Balance shoe is $223 while the average price premium is 52%. 
  • As of 2022, the company was able to use 91% preferred leather and 64% preferred cotton in their manufacturing. The target is 100% by 2025. 

New Balance shoe revenue

  • In 2022, New Balance achieved its record-high $4.23 billion shoe revenue. 
  • During this year, NB reported that the revenue from its footwear department is 80% of the entire company’s revenue. 
  • Way back in 2008, the footwear department of New Balance tallied $1.35 billion. 
  • The shoe segment during this time takes up 90% of the company’s total revenue. 
  • Meaning that from 2008-2022, New Balance’s footwear revenue has skyrocketed by 214.1%. 

Year

Revenue in $ billion

Growth

2008

$1.35

 

2022

$4.24

214.1%

New Balance footwear revenueNew Balance shoe market share

  • New Balance holds about 4% of the global shoe market.
  • In the United States, it enjoys a 10% market portion. 
  • 6% of the world athletic shoe market is from New Balance. Meanwhile, in the US, it is 3.8%. 
  • In 2021, 12.7% of the running shoes in the US are from New Balance. 
  • In terms of sneakers, the company has global and US market shares of 7.3% and 3.4% in 2022, respectively. 
  • Back in 2015, 5.8% of online-bought shoes were New Balance.

Type

Global share

US share

Overall

4%

10%

Athletic shoes

6%

3.8%

Sneakers

7.3%

3.4%

new balance shoe market shareMen vs. women user segment in New Balance

  • As of 2022, New Balance reports a 50-50 percent sharing between its men and women end-user segments. 
  • In 2017, the men’s footwear department led with a 57% portion. 
  • The women’s segment was at 43% in 2017. 
  • The company also reports that historically, the company’s men’s footwear segment was a dominating 70%. 
  • Back in 2000, its women segment was only 30%.

Men's and women's market share in New Balance shoes

Year

%Men

%Women

2000

70%

30%

2017

57%

43%

2022

50%

50%

men and women market share in new balance shoes

New Balance basketball shoe statistics

  • New Balance climbed to the 6th spot of the most popular basketball shoes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2022-23 season. It grabbed a 2.3% share. This is the strongest showing of the shoe brand in the past six seasons. 
  • Moreover, during the same season, New Balance Two WXY V3 became the 13th most-worn basketball shoe. A total of 8 players sported them in the ‘22-23 season.
  • During the 2021-22 season, New Balance held a 1.4% share in the NBA. 
  • This is comparatively lower than the 1.5% portion the year prior.
  • During this time, Kawhi Leonard’s OMN1S was worn by 6 players including himself. In the 2019-20 season, the OMN1S was sported by only 4 players.
  • Back in the 2018-19 season, New Balance struggled with a 0.2% share in the league. 
  • From 14th place in the ‘18-19 season, New Balance hopped six places to earn the 8th spot in ‘19-20. Its percent share also increased to a 0.9% share. 
  • Over the past six seasons of the league, New Balance was able to inflate its presence in the NBA by 1050% from 2018 to 2023. 

Presence of New Balance basketball shoes in the NBA

Season

Percent share

Rank

2018-19

0.2%

14th

2019-20

0.9%

8th

2020-21

1.5%

7th

2021-22

1.4%

8th 

2022-23

2.3%

6th

New Balance shoes in NBANew Balance shoe production

  • In 2021, NB reported that they produce 16 million pairs of shoes a year. 
  • That is equivalent to about 30 pairs of shoes a minute. 
  • 4 million pairs of NB shoes are manufactured domestically in the US.
  • About 70% of NB shoes sold in the US came from China.
  • In terms of retail stores, the company shared that it had about 4,000 in 2022.
  • This is 14.3% more than the 3,500 stores in 2017. 
  • New Balance says that their shoes last for 300-500 miles before replacement.

New Balance retail stores worldwide

Year

No. of retail stores

Growth

2017

3,500

 

2022

4,000

14.3%

number of retail stores from new balance

Average weight of New Balance shoes in 2023

  • We analyzed 350+ New Balance shoes across multiple categories and found that the average weight of an NB shoe is 10.5 oz (297g) for men.
  •  For women, a New Balance shoe weighs 8.5 oz or 240.5g on average. 
  • In running shoes, the men’s average is 9.7 oz (275.5g). 
  • Meanwhile, the women’s average is 8.1 oz (228.7g). 
  • Additionally, the average NB walking shoe weighs 21.1 oz (342.7g) for men and 9.4 oz (267.4g) for women.
  • The mean weight of a men’s training shoe from New Balance is 10.1 oz (284.9g). A women’s training shoe, on the other hand, weighs 8.3 oz (235.7) on average. 

Average weight of New Balance shoes in oz

Type

Men

Women

Overall

10.5

8.5

Running shoes

9.7

8.1

Walking shoes

12.1 

9.4

Training shoes

10.1

8.3

men and women weight new balance shoes

New Balance shoe price statistics

  • As of 2023, the average price of all New Balance shoes on the RunRepeat database is $108. 
  • For running shoes, the mean price tag is $120.4. This is 6.1% more affordable than an average running shoe ($127.7).
  • New Balance walking shoes’ average price of $102 is 17% pricier compared to the mean price tag of all walking shoes ($87.2) in the RunRepeat database.
  • On the other hand, the average cost of an NB training shoe is $94.1. Meanwhile, an average training shoe costs $102.6 which is 9% more expensive. 
  • For the sneakers, the mean price of New Balance is $105.1. Furthermore, an average sneaker costs $102.6 which is 2.4% less. 
  • In 1982, NB990 became the first sneaker to retail for $100. 
  • Notably, about 39% of all New Balance shoes today cost less than $100.
  • The average resale price of a New Balance shoe is $223. 
  • The average price premium for a second-hand New Balance shoe is 52%. 
  • In 2022, the secondary shoe market of NB experienced a 61% year-over-year increase. Some models resold for a whopping 387% premium.

Average prices of New Balance shoes in 2023

Type

Average price

Overall

$108.0

Running shoes

$120.4

Walking shoes

$102.0

Training shoes

$94.1

Average price of New Balance shoes

New Balance sustainability

  • The company aims to use 100% preferred leather and 100% preferred cotton in its footwear and apparel segments by the year 2025. 
  • As of 2022, New Balance was able to utilize 91% preferred leather. 
  • They were also 64% into the integration of preferred cotton in the manufacturing process. 
  • Meanwhile, 44% of the polyester that the company used in 2022 were preferred polyester materials. 
  • Their target was to use 50% preferred polyester by 2025. 

New Balance sustainable goals

 

2022

2025*

Preferred leather

91%

100%

Preferred cotton

64%

100%

Recycled polyester

44%

50%

*Target

New Balance sustainability goals

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Author
Jens Jakob Andersen
Jens Jakob Andersen
Jens Jakob is a fan of short distances with a 5K PR at 15:58 minutes. Based on 35 million race results, he's among the fastest 0.2% runners. Jens Jakob previously owned a running store, when he was also a competitive runner. His work is regularly featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC and the likes as well as peer-reviewed journals. Finally, he has been a guest on +30 podcasts on running.